If you want to see perps locked up, dont count on Andrew Cuomo

Andrew Cuomo as governor signed off on “reforms” that sent crime soaring, and now he’s giving New Yorkers fair warning: He still stands by them, because the no-bail law “righted a terrible wrong.”Translation: If you want to see perps locked up, don’t count on Cuomo.“We were putting people in Rikers, in jail, who hadn’t been found guilty of anything just because they couldn’t make bail,” Cuomo claimed Sunday.Wealthy defendants could make bail and get released, he argued, while others, who couldn’t, remained locked up.False: Judges always took a person’s wealth into consideration when setting bail; poorer defendants faced lower amounts.That made sense because bail is meant to ensure a defendant shows up for trial if released, and a small bail amount isn’t likely to stop the wealthy from fleeing.Bail kept recidivists, career criminals and violent thugs off the streets until they could be tried, convicted and kept away from civil society.Yet Cuomo’s bail reform completely eliminated the requirement to post bail for most crimes; only perps accused of the most heinous atrocities now have to come up with cash.Everyone else gets a get-out-of-jail-free card.The result: Criminals are back on the streets even before cops complete their arrest paperwork.Set-’em-loose judges (like those The Post highlighted Sunday) and prosecutors who vow not to prosecute (looking at you, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg) made matters even worse.

Subscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter! Please provide a valid email address.By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Never miss a story.Sure enough, crime rates soared: Murders shot up 47% — from 319 in 2019 to 468 in 2020, when the reform kicked in.The NYPD’s made some gains since, but they were still 20% higher last year; felonies in general were up 30%; misdemeanors, 18%.Meanwhile, stores (that haven’t shut down...